March 28, 2024

6-year-old child killed after truck veers into yard

DES MOINES — Des Moines police say a 6-year-old boy playing in a backyard died after being hit by a pickup truck that went out of control after colliding with another vehicle.

Police say the child died about 12:30 p.m. Monday when a truck rear-ended a van and then veered off a road, crashing through two fences before hitting a trampoline on which two children were playing. The pickup pushed the trampoline into a drainage ditch before finally stopping.

The 6-year-old died. A 4-year-old boy didn’t appear to be injured but his mother took him to a hospital as a precaution.

Police were interviewing the driver of the pickup, 44-year-old Guadalupe Villa-Guzman, of Des Moines. He has a suspended driver’s license.